Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an overfolder for a gable top carton. More specifically, the present invention relates to an arrangement on a form, fill and seal packaging machine for overfolding the top panel of a gable top carton to create a flatter top panel for placement of a fitment thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gable top cartons have long been the preferred package for milk and milk related products. Recently, gable top cartons have assumed a new role as the preferred package for juices, particularly orange juice. The consumers preference for gable top cartons is at least partially generated by the perception of freshness associated with the gable top carton. The opposing top panels meeting to form the gable top with a top fin creates an image of a fresh, healthy product contained within the carton. The only detraction from this image was the lack of a tight reseal of the carton after the initial opening of the carton by a consumer. The integrated closure formed from the side of the top of the carton allowed for good pourability, however, the resealing was adequate at best.
This minor detraction was alleviated with the introduction of plastic fitments applied to the gable top cartons. The fitments, which generally include a spout with a flange and a cap, allowed for a tight reseal of the carton after the initial opening. The use of fitments on cartons further enhanced the consumer""s perception that gable top cartons contained fresh and healthy products.
In the rush to meet the consumer""s demand, the packaging industry developed new packaging/filling machines that applied a fitment to cartons prior to sterilization or filling. The demand to have packaging machines with the smallest xe2x80x9cfootprintxe2x80x9d (the area of the machine) in a dairy meant that most older machines did not have sufficient space within the machine to incorporate a fitment applicator. This rendered older machines without the ability to provide a carton with a fitment thereby reducing their value to the dairy or like facility. Thus a need to apply a fitment on a formed, filled and sealed carton grew throughout the packaging industry.
Another problem necessitating the need to apply a fitment on a formed, filled and sealed carton pertains to maintaining a sterile environment within a form, fill and seal packaging machine to produce an extended shelf life (xe2x80x9cESLxe2x80x9d) product, a high acid ambient distribution (xe2x80x9cHAADxe2x80x9d) product, or an aseptic product. The ESL product allows for a product to have double or triple the refrigerated shelf life of a non-ESL product. The HAAD product allows for a high acid (pH less than 4.5) product such as orange juice to be stored unrefrigerated for an extended time period. The aseptic product allows for any product to be stored unrefrigerated for an extended time period. All of these products need to be produced in a sterile, contaminant-free environment which would tend away from in-line fitment applicators and toward the use of post processing fitment applicators.
In order to have good adhesion between the back of the fitment and a top panel of a gable top carton, the top panel should be as flat as possible. However, gable top cartons are fabricated from flattened carton blanks which create a tendency in the packaging material to springback when folded and sealed into the finished carton. This springback effect causes the top panel to convex thereby creating a poor substrate for attachment of a fitment thereto. The packaging industry has yet to provide a solution to this problem.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an arrangement on a packaging machine for overfolding a top panel of a form, filled and sealed gable top carton to create a flatter top panel for placement of a fitment thereon.
It is an additional object of the present invention to an arrangement that overfolds a top panel of a gable top carton subsequent to top sealing of the carton on a form, fill and seal packaging machine.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an arrangement capable of flattening a convex top panel of a formed, filled and sealed gable top carton.
One aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for overfolding a top panel of a formed, filled and sealed gable top carton. The apparatus includes a bracket, a folding mechanism and a moving means. The folding mechanism is attached to the bracket and is disposed above a carton pathway for contact with the formed, filled and sealed carton to overfold a top panel of the formed, filled and sealed carton. The moving means moves the folding mechanism from a stationary position to an engagement position.
The folding mechanism may include a plurality of projection members extending from a frame toward the formed, filled and sealed carton, and a plurality of engagement members. Each of the plurality of engagement members are connected to a corresponding projection member at an end of the projection member opposite the connection of the projection member to the frame. Each of the engagement members may be rounded for non-damaging pressing against the carton. The moving means may be a pneumatic cylinder, a servomotor, a cam/gear arrangement, or the like. The projection member and the engagement member may provide a predetermined length to avoid contact between the frame and a top fin of the formed, filled and sealed carton during the overfolding operation.
Another aspect of the present invention is an arrangement for over-folding a top panel of a formed, filled and sealed gable top carton on a packaging machine for forming, filling and sealing a series of cartons being conveyed along a pathway. The arrangement includes a bracket, a folding mechanism and a moving means. The bracket is connected on one end to the packaging machine subsequent to a top sealing station of the packaging machine. The folding mechanism is attached to the bracket and is disposed above the carton pathway for contact with the formed, filled and sealed carton to overfold a top panel of the formed, filled and sealed carton. The moving means moves the folding mechanism from a stationary position to an engagement position.
The folding mechanism of the arrangement may include a plurality of projection members extending from a frame toward the formed, filled and sealed carton, and a plurality of engagement members. Each of the plurality of engagement members are connected to a corresponding projection member at an end of the projection member opposite the connection of the projection member to the frame. Each of the engagement members of the arrangement may be rounded for non-damaging pressing against the carton. The moving means of the arrangement may be a pneumatic cylinder, a servomotor, a cam/gear arrangement or the like. The projection member and the engagement member of the arrangement may provide a predetermined length to avoid contact between the frame and a top fin of the formed, filled and sealed carton during the overfolding operation. The arrangement may be positioned directly subsequent to a top sealing station of the packaging machine.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method for overfolding a top panel of a formed, filled and sealed carton. The first step of the method is conveying a formed, filled and sealed carton to a overfolding station. The next step is moving a folding mechanism of the overfolding station toward a top panel of the formed, filled and sealed carton. The next step is pressing the folding mechanism against the top panel of the formed, filled and sealed carton. The next step is moving the folding mechanism away from the top panel of the formed, filled and sealed carton.
The method may also include top sealing the carton prior to conveying the carton to the overfolding station. The method may also include synchronizing the movement of the folding mechanism with the movement of each of the cartons.